The SOUTH
ASIA TERRORISM PORTAL is a project rooted in a deep conviction that
the rising scourge of terrorism is a threat not only to this region,
but to all humanity. Terrorism is a method that recognises no limits
of law and knows no constraints of morality, of honour, of human compassion,
or even of the minimal rules of warfare. Crucially, it transcends all
international boundaries, and returns to consume the very systems and
societies that create, support and sponsor it, even as it destroys those
who tolerate or succumb to it.

For some years now, a part of the political
and intellectual world has been seduced by the improbable idea of a
clash of civilisations, of a final determination of the superiority
of one culture, ideology or Faith over all others. And terrorist violence
is sometimes seen as a legitimate instrument in this final, millennial,
struggle by those who are absolutely convinced that their vision of
the world is the only one possible. But no nation, culture or civilisation
can conceivably benefit from terrorism. This is the pitiless enemy of
every nation state in the world, of all cultures and of civilisation
itself.

Terrorism,
moreover, is not the problem of its victim societies alone. Its impact
reverberates across the globe. A victory for terrorism anywhere in the
world is a victory for terrorism everywhere.

This is why this evil must be fought
collectively, by all nations, all cultures and all civilisations. When
we speak of defeating terrorism, we do not speak of the right or wrong
of a specific ideology or Faith, or of any nation's claims in a particular
dispute. We speak only of the rejection of an extraordinarily inhuman
and barbaric method of warfare as an instrument of resolution.

The global community must now come
together to arm and defend itself against the random and indiscriminate
violence of the rising tide of terror. But this, alone, will not suffice.
Arms and force are necessary, if we are not to succumb. But the eventual
victory against terrorism will be secured in the minds of men.

Therein lies the significance of the
Internet. Like terrorism, it transcends international borders; unlike
terrorism, however, it creates and communicates the possibilities of
a greater understanding of the diversity of mankind, of the resolution
of disputes and differences without violence, of the hopes and dreams
of all of humanity living in peace.

It has often been said that, if you
wish to change the world, you must first accept and understand it as
it is. The SOUTH ASIA TERRORISM PORTAL is an endeavour to achieve such
an understanding of the world of terror.